Tuesday 13th October 2015, 8:00pm

Session 148: “Rational Authority and Social Power: Towards a Truly Social Epistemology” by Miranda Fricker

During this Theory Tuesdays session, Gian-Andri Toendury presented the essay “Rational Authority and Social Power: Towards a Truly Social Epistemology” by Miranda Fricker (1998).

The essay explored the relationship between rational authority and social power, proceeding by way of a philosophical genealogy. The position advocated in the essay avoids the errors both of “traditionalist” thinking (who regard the socio-political as an irrelevant epistemology) and “reductionist” thinking (who regard reason as just another form of social power). The main argument is that a norm of credibility governs epistemic practice in the state of nature, which, when socially manifested, likely imitates the structures of social power.

Participants: 3